Spend all your day looking at Instagram or Pinterest or other similar sites?

...I know I do.

Spend a lot of time 'researching' ideas and styles?

Of course they can be brilliant tools following other artists and their art, it can be inspirational. But be careful.

At the end of your finger tips we have constant access to hundreds of thousands of images and their implied success stories (emphasis on 'implied') which can overload your mind and hinder your own personal growth.

This recently happened to me.

After chatting with other wonderful people in similar careers, who I admire greatly. I discovered a recurring problem. Everyone is so obsessed by what everyone else is doing. So much so that they are devaluing their own individual, unique creativity and wasting valuable time.

So what should you be doing? Simply put, remind yourself why 'you' do what you do and where 'you' want to go. Using social media should be kept to a minimum. Its easy to get distracted.

So step away and get your head down and just let your creative juices flow.

Me and my journey

So I wanted to show you my journey with portraiture so far. I am not sure of the end goal but its the new techniques and new compositions and colours that drive me ever forward. Looking back at my 'own' portfolio (and not others) I can see clearly how far I've come and what I should also revisit.

I find this a much more positive and constructive use of my time.

Remember, this is just my own opinion. Please feel free to contact me to tell me your thoughts on the subject or if you need help directing in the right direction.

Thanks for reading :)